Storage Idea To Get Your Bread Under Control

The bread in my house is out of control!  It's taking over my life and more importantly my limited counter space.  And did I mention it's ugly?  Sure I can just start limiting my bread supply but I like my bagels, hamburger buns, hotdog buns, and just plain 'ole bread WAY too much to reduce my supply.  So my countertop started looking like this on a regular basis.



The photo above shows my bread stash on a good day when I didn't even have that much on hand.  I always fit all that I can in the stainless steel bread box and then the rest of it sits next to it on the counter.  This situation is very ugly folks.  I have no idea why stores actually think a normal person can fit all of their bread products inside a small little bread box, and even more perplexing I don't know why I ever thought I could as well.  I think I was just drawn in by the sleek looking stainless steel that whispered sweet nothings in my ear, promising I would no longer have to look at those little unsightly bags again.  That turned out to not be reality and now it's a problem I'm sick of looking at.

The other day I decided to take matters into my own hands and that's when I had it....the world's greatest idea since, well, sliced bread.  Here it is!  The solution to the world's energy crisis!  Well, maybe not...but I'm still pretty tickled with it. 

I know what you're thinking, it's just a shelf.  I remembered I had this long unused countertop shelf down in my basement and I thought maybe I could somehow modify it to work for my bread storage.  So I brought it upstairs, dusted it off, and took off the price tag.

You don't need Lasik surgery because your eyes are seeing the price clearly.  I purchased this shelf over a year ago from Hobby Lobby for $23.80 marked down from $69.99.  I had plans for it at the time that didn't work out so instead of returning it I decided to keep it.  It was a nice solid shelf and I just knew down the road I would find a perfect use for it.  

I already had a Longaberger Bread Basket on hand from eons ago that I was using for closet storage and amazingly it fit perfectly, however I only had one and I wanted to utilize both shelves.  So I did a quick search on Ebay and found a perfect mate for it complete with a matching liner and protector all for $35.59 including shipping (just the basket itself new from Longaberger costs $49 plus tax) so I got a great deal!  Plus the liner print has long been discontinued and I couldn't imagine my luck when I saw everything I needed all in one shot.  Once the new basket arrived safely I put it to work.  Here's a close up of what my bread situation looks like now.



Here's one that shows my bread sitting very unassumingly on my countertop.  The top basket it just a smidge darker than the bottom one so I think I'm going to switch them and put the lighter one on top but I am just so pleased with how this turned out. 



Pay no attention to the fact that the right side of the countertop still doesn't have the trim piece on it nor does the bottom portion of the cabinets.  This girl has a day job but I promise I'm getting on that soon!